The Vikings punted on a 4th-and-4 on their 26.
The NYT 4th Down Bot is totally on board.

If you disagree

The coach and I agree that punting is the thing to do here, but you may be thinking it makes sense to go for it. That would be the right call if you think the Vikings’ chances of converting on fourth down are greater than 68 percent. But based on my analysis, I’d give the Vikings only a 47 percent chance to get a first down here.

Here's the full breakdown of my calculations:

Option

Chance of converting

Chance of winning

Before play

After play

Change

Punt

57%

57%

-

Go for it4th and 4, own 26

47%

57%

54%

–3%

Field goal tryA really, really long kick

<1%

57%

46%

–11%

My decision in context

Along with some circuitry to come up with a win probability for every game situation, all you need to figure out what you should do next is an estimate of how likely you are to make a field goal or convert a first down.

My estimates for these are based on the results of thousands of similar plays, but you may think you're smarter than I am. This chart shows you how changing those estimates would change my recommendation.

What to do on 4th-and-4 on own 26

Tied with 9:22 remaining in the 1st quarter

What coaches usually do

Punt

>99% of the time

Go for it

-

Field goal try

-

Based on about 1,799 fourth downs in similar situations since 2001.

What happened

Jeff Locke punts for 51 yards to Ten23.

Where did these numbers come from?

To estimate a team’s chances of winning, I use a mathematical model that accounts for a whole lot of variables — including the difference in score, the time remaining in the game, and the number of timeouts each team has left. On top of that, I have models for the likelihood that a team makes a field goal and the likelihood that it will convert a first down.

By combining all of this information, I can come up with the best decision a team can make, according to math.

If you want even more details about the numbers behind my decisions, my full model is available on GitHub. Help make me better!